Mock’s RBI double in eighth beats Middletown
Kyleigh Mock got it done in the field and at the plate Tuesday afternoon for the Lower Lake Trojans, 6-5 winners in eight innings over the Middletown Mustangs in the North Central League I softball opener for both teams at Middletown High School.
Mock’s RBI double in the top of the eighth inning snapped a 5-all tie after Middletown (0-1 league, 1-1 overall) scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.
“She had a phenomenal game all around,” Lower Lake head coach Brett Doud said of his shortstop. “She helped turn a double play, she had three big throws and two big catches.”
At the plate, Mock drove a ball into the left-center field gap with one out in the eighth to score teammate Sam Edrich, who had earlier singled.
Middletown put the potential tying run on base with one out in the bottom of the eighth but winning pitcher Jessica Hernandez retired the next two batters on popups. Hernandez went
the distance, striking out 10 and walking none.
“She was very consistent around the plate,” Middletown head coach Bob Gunion said. “She’s formidable. You’ve got to be ready to hit because she’s going to be working the corners.”
“She dug deep,” Doud said of Hernandez. “She’s got the most heart of any player I’ve ever coached.”
Losing pitcher Emma Hansen also went the distance, striking out four and walking three. She helped herself at the plate too, including a RBI single that tied the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh. One batter earlier Lily Martin doubled home Jaidyn Brown, who singled to open the inning, to cut Lower Lake’s lead to 5-4.
“It was one of those backand-forth, back-and-forth games,” Gunion said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump that last time.”
Middletown took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Lower Lake (1-0 league, 2-0 overall) scored a run in the second and four in the fourth to go up 5-2. The Mustangs closed to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
The two teams combined for 25 hits. For Lower Lake, Edrich went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Kayla Doud went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Rebecca Theodorou and Kylie Hartmann added two hits apiece, and one of Hartmann’s hits was a solo home run. For Middletown, Martin ended up 3-for-4 with two doubles and a RBI, and Hansen and Maddie Ferguson each had two hits.
“Overall I’m impressed with the way they bounced back after giving up those two runs in the seventh,” Doud said. “We got the run we needed and then we got the three outs we needed.”
“Both teams had the same type of roller coaster (ride) today,” Gunion said.
Lower Lake returns home Wednesday for a nonleague game against Montgomery and then hits the road Friday for a league game against St. Helena. First pitch both days is 4 p.m. Middletown returns to league action Friday at home against Cloverdale at 4 p.m.
Game notes: Besides Mock at shortstop, Nayeli Santana in left field and Kayla Doud at catcher had solid games in the field for Lower Lake … Lower Lake’s Theodorou and Middletown’s Lia Crudo had doubles.
In other softball action Tuesday:
CloverdAle 16, Kelseyville 5
At Cloverdale, the postTehya Bird era opened in Cloverdale and the Eagles didn’t miss a beat as they 10-runned the Kelseyville Knights in five innings.
Bird, the pitching and hitting phenom for the Eagles each of the last four season, is now playing for the University of Oregon.
“Cloverdale is always a tough place to to go,” said Kelseyville head coach Julie Jackson, a former Clear Lake High School star who had some memorable battles with the Eagles back in 2005-2008.
Grace Gloeckner, a senior, pitched for the Eagles and found herself locked in a 5-5 tie after Kelseyville (0-1 league, 0-2 overall) scored a run in the top of the third to tie it up. It didn’t stay tied long as head coach Margaret Fitzgerald’s club pushed ahead to stay with four runs in the bottom of the third. The Eagles put the game away with a seven-run fifth.
“She did her job,” Jackson said of Gloeckner. “She made us put the ball in play.”
The Knights banged out nine hits, including two each by Skye Mateer (2-for2, double, two RBIs) and Myranda Williams (2-for-3, two doubles, RBI).
Jackson had high praise for Mateer, the team’s shortstop.
“She was focused from the get-go,” Jackson said. “She was trying to be a leader. She hit very well today and was dialed in.”
Cloverdale took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Kelseyville got most of that back with a four-run top of the second.
The Knights try for their first win again on Friday when they host Clear Lake at 4 p.m.
Willits At CleAr LAke, postpoped
At Lakeport, Clear Lake’s league opener with the Willits Wolverines was postponed because the Wolverines are on spring break this week and could not assemble enough players to face the Cardinals. The game will be rescheduled later in the season.